The Candid Frame #160 - Susan and Neil Silverman


Susan and Neil Silverman forever seek "the Image, the Light and the Moment" through their camera lens. Together they teach workshops, photograph a multitude of subject matter: people, nature, landscape, weddings, travel, commercial and industrial sites.

Their work is represented by stock agencies both national and international and has appeared in a variety of publications including the cover of Outdoor Photography,, Elle Magazine, Sierra Club, Microsoft, Pacific Rim Magazine, Cure Magazine, der Spiegel, Tamrac International Catalogue Cover, Nikon World, The Wooden boat, Sierra Club, Nikon International Catalogue, and Proceedings among many others. You can find out more about them and their work and workshops by visiting their website

Neil and Susan Silverman recommend the works of W. Eugene Smith and Richard Avedon


You can also subscribe to the show via iTunes by clicking here.

Or you can directly download the MP3 file by clicking here.


The Candid Frame #157 - Brian Smith


Brian Smith is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who for the past thirty years has created iconic portraits of famous athletes, celebrities, politicians and business people. His images have appeared in countless books and magazines, not least of which are Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Magazine, Time, Forbes, New York Times Magazine, Elle and British GQ.

He won the Pulitzer for Spot News Photography for his photography of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He was also won awards from both World Press Photo and the Picture of the Year competitions for his image of Greg Louganis hitting his head on the diving board at the Seoul Olympics. His personal project have included images of Burlesque performers from today and the past. He is also the author Secrets of Great Portrait Photography: Pictures of the Famous and the Infamous. You can discover more about Brian and his work by visiting his website at www.briansmith.com

Brian Smith recommends the work of Elliot Erwitt.


 You can also subscribe to the show via iTunes by clicking here.

Or you can directly download the MP3 file by clicking here.

Meeting Maury Edelstein

While I was in San Francisco yesterday, I spent some time shooting in the city with my friend Emilio. I was walking down Market Street when I spotted this dapper fellow making images with a small Canon camera. He was making images of a postal worker.

I struck up a conversation with him to discover that he had been photographing in this area for quite a long time and as people passed by, it seemed like he was familiar with a lot of them and they him. Visiting his website afterwards, I realized that he had accumulated a large body of work.

But what really impressed me was the wonderful energy he brought to the street. A lot of street photographers can be very earnest about their work, but he seemed to be having a lot of fun. He was really having a ball being out there in the street getting his shots. And the fact that he was doing it with such a stylus ensemble of hat, tie and shoes really impressed me.

As I told Emilio later, I could only hope that I had that much energy and enthusiasm thirty years from now.

I meet a lot of photographers on the street, but Maury definitely left me inspired.

You can check out his impressive work by visiting his website.

Surf's Up: Hands on with the Olympus OM-D E-M5


You would think that living in Southern California during the summer, I wouldn't need much reason to head out to the beach and  enjoy all that it has to offer. The weather combined with the energy of the crowds can make for a great time outdoors, especially for the photographer. 

The reality is that I've not hit the shores, much less the water this season, which is why I was excited about an invitation from Olympus to use some their latest cameras during the Surf City competition in Huntington Beach. 

I had about three hours to go out shooting with the OM-D E-M5 as well as  the TG-1 iHS, their waterproof compact camera. So, this isn't an exhaustive and detailed review. That's something for another day if and when I can use the camera for a longer period of time. But for those curious about this model, I thought it would be interesting to share my experience with it and some of the images that I produced that day. 

Now, I have been a big fan of the Olympus Pen-series of camera, particularly the Olympus PEN EP-3, which is the first digital camera in my experience with fast enough autofocus to make it viable as a definitive street photography camera. The shutter lag/ focus delay in many cameras even the highest end DSLR made spontaneous and instantaneous street shooting a challenge, if not frustrating. So, when I heard that the the OM-D E-M5 had improved on that autofocus system, but in a design more in line with a DSLR, my curiosity was peaked. 
Within moments of getting the camera in my hand, I knew that the autofocus response that I had come to enjoy with the EP-3 was being delivered here. My ability to recognize the potential of a scene, compose my shot and make the photograph was not hampered in the least by the camera hunting for focus or even the slightest lag. I didn't have to slightly depress the shutter button halfway to detect focus before hand as I often have to do with many other cameras in order to ensure I capture that critical moment and produce a sharp, in-focus photograph. 

Unlike many of the current breed of mirror-less cameras, the OM-D E-M5 features an OLED viewfinder as well a LCD display. Now, I'm never been a fan of these, having a been so accustomed to a traditional optical viewfinder. But I have to admit, I really liked that image I saw looking through the viewfinder. It's as close to the "real thing" as anything I've seen thus far in the form of an EVF. 

After a short time getting familiar with the controls of the camera including how to toggle back and forth between the EVF and the LCD, I got to shooting, focusing on a variety of subject primarily the people that were enjoying the venues at the Surf City event. For me, it was opportunity to shoot street, but with a lot more sand and less clothing that I am usually accustomed to seeing on the streets of Los Angeles. 

The compact size of the camera particularly with the Olympus 12mm f/2 lens (24mm equivalent) made it a stealthy and compact alternative to the what now seems like a beast of a DSLR. This afforded me the ability to get in closer to my subject than I normally would feel comfortable when using a bigger camera, but which is especially important when using a wide angle. 

I found myself quickly winding through the crowds capturing the ever-changing scenes around me. Despite the high contrast lighting , the camera's metering handled exposure well, which was particularly important because I was recording jpegs rather than raw files to get a real sense of what this camera was capable of. 

The camera also delivered when it came to capturing action in the form of skateboarders doing acrobatics that made my body ache just watching it. It was also the right tool when it came time to make a portrait. In each shooting situation, I didn't find myself wanting for my DSLR with respect to certain features or controls. 



The camera features a set of art filters, which some people find gimmicky, but which I have come to really enjoy, particularly the Dramatic Tone filter which provides a grungy HDR look. But when I was shown that I  could now combine filters, I quickly discovered the Pinhole and the Dramatic Tone filter in combination produced some wonderfully unexpected results. 

You have to know that when it comes to Photoshop, I am not the kind of photographer who works on achieving this look using software. I'm often pretty conservative with the degree of image manipulation I use. So, the use of these filters allowed me the opportunity to play and experiment in a way that I don't think I'd ever consider in front of my computer. So, I actively shot with the Art Filter bracketing feature enabled which allowed me to not only capture my "straight" image, but also images that received the benefit of these special looks. 

Though I wish I'd had more time to spend the day shooting, I found that the OM-D E-M5 was a mirror-less camera that really delivered on the promise of a compact, stylish design that didn't sacrifice in terms of performance. Though I'm sure that a more exhaustive review might reveal some things that I might dislike, none such issues were immediately revealed to me as I was shooting and producing these images. 

When reading other reviews, there is such a focus on what feature or control a camera doesn't have in comparison to another and while I can understand the importance of that for certain types of photography or a photographer, I am primarily concerned with whether camera will allow me to make the kinds of images I'm striving to get. I'm pleased to say that not only did the OM-D E-M5 allow me to do that, but that the resulting images were shots that I was very pleased with. It certainly made my photography that morning very, very fun. 





Photographers for Your Consideration

As an adjunct professor at the Art Center College of Design. I have the opportunity to see a lot of work from some up-and-coming photographers. I thought that I'd share the websites of some of the photographers who are currently in my class this term.


You'll find  each of these photographers bring something unique and interesting to the table.


Brandon Osborn (www.brandonophoto.com)
Brandon Osborn has an eye for detail. His videos capture the subjects and presents a mood consistent with the idea presented in the video. He is talented with still and motion photography.

















Camillo Longo (www.camillolongo.com)
Camillo Longo is a photographer whose focus in on storytelling. He does so by making photographs with an emphasis on detail, history and research. 



Brian Pescador (www.brianpescador.com)

Brian Pescador mixed portrait with an interesting exploration of the urban environment, reveal vibrant image in common and unexpected places. 
Laurel Johnson is a diverse photographer who photographs fashion, portrait and food. However, she has a special affinity for interesting people, which can be found in her portrait series on roller derby athletes. 

The Candid Frame #120 - Michelle Turner



Michelle Turner is a successful destination wedding photographer. Her "funky and fashionable" shooting style has put her in a position of high-demand amongst her clients whose weddings take the photographer to stunning visual locations such as the Dominican Republic and Mexico. She is both a coveted national speaker and author and has published two books about fashionable wedding photography. She is an alumna of Georgetown University and worked on her Master’s at Dartmouth. She currently resides in Maine in the summer and spends most of the winter photographing weddings in Mexico and Central America. Her latest book is The Wedding Photography Field Guide - from Focal Press. You can discover her work by visiting her website.

Michelle Turner recommends the work of Ben Chrisman.

For streaming audio click here or subscribe to the podcast for free viaSubscribe via iTunes


Check out my new video podcast, Chasing the Light by clicking here. It's also available directly via iTunes.

The Candid Frame #118 - Eric Kim



Eric Kim is a street photographer currently residing in Los Angeles. He specializes in black and white street photography, and has taken photos from all over the globe, including places such as Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, Cinque Terre, Prague, London, and Korea. The images that you see in his work are mostly of candid street photography of people in their natural environments. He has a fantastic blog dedicated to street photography from all over the world as well as a series of YouTube videos in which he speaks of his journey as a street photographer. You can discover more about him by visiting his website, his blog and his YouTube channel.

For streaming audio click here or subscribe to the podcast for free viaSubscribe via iTunes

Here is one video that captures his approach using a GoPro camera.

Eric Kim recommends the work of DirtyHarrry on Flickr.

Click here to read my experience studying in his street photography workshop.

The Candid Frame #116 - William George Wadman



William George Wadman is an editorial portrait photographer whose work regularly appears in TIME magazine, BusinessWeek, The New York Times, and La Monde to name just a few. His approach was developed by a personal 365 Project in which he created a portrait a day for a year, which he posted on his blog, which eventually drew much attention and helped create a presence for him as an up and coming photographer. Whether photographing the famous or the not-so-famous, he brings a straight-forward and interesting approach to images of people. You can discover more about Bill and his work by visiting his website or his blog. He also produces a podcast, Circuitous Conversations with Bill and Dan.

Bill Wadman recommends the work Sylvia Plachy.

For streaming audio click here or subscribe to the podcast for free viaSubscribe via iTunes

The Candid Frame #97 - Paul Gero


Paul Gero is a portrait and wedding photographer who began his photographic career as a photojournalist. The demands of his early work has had a big influence on his approach for capturing the special and fleeting moments of not only his clients, but his own family. There is a seamlessness between his professional and personal work which reminds us that images created from the heart are not only beautiful, but memorable and full of impact. You can discover more of his work by visiting in daily blog and his commercial website.

Paul Gero recommends the work of Josef Koudelka.

For streaming audio click here or subscribe to the podcast for free viaSubscribe via iTunes



The photograph of Paul and his family was created by former TCF guest, Daniel Milnor. You can listen to my interview with Dan by clicking here.

The Candid Frame #85 - Dan Winters


Dan Winters is a photographer who has been admired and honored for his work as a portraitist and illustrator. His iconic images of celebrity have adorned the covers of numerous magazines including Texas Monthly, The New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Discover, Wired and many more. His commercial clients have included Nike, Sony, Saturn, Dreamworks and Twentieth Century Fox. He is also respected for his work in still-life and illustrations. You can discover more of his work by visiting his website.

Dan Winters recommends the work of Frederick Sommer.

For streaming audio click here or subscribe to the podcast for free viaSubscribe via iTunes

The Candid Frame #80 - Nevada Wier


Nevada Wier is an award-winning photographer specializing in the remote corners of the globe and the cultures that inhabit them. Nevada's journeys have taken her throughout Southeast Asia, India, China, Nepal, Africa, New Zealand, Central Asia, Mongolia, South America and other obscure regions of the world.

Her work is represented for licensing by Getty and Corbis. Nevada has been published in numerous national and international publications, including: NG Adventure, Geo, Islands, National Geographic, Outdoor Photographer, Outside, and Smithsonian. She is a Fellow of The Explorer's Club, a member of the Society of Woman Geographers and was featured in a Northwest Airlines international television and print ad campaign. You can discover more of her work by visiting her website and following her blog.

Nevada Wier recommends the work of David Alan Harvey & Alex Webb.

For streaming audio click here or subscribe to the podcast for free viaSubscribe via iTunes